Those starting their career should realize that your success is a long journey. The journey you design can determine success, and continued success. This journey to success should begin with a clear and realistic dream of what you want to be or what you want to end up being as what Steven Covey said to begin with end in mind. Based on my own 40 years of experience, it can be made through four stages towards this end. I call them PDMC, a) Preparation and Learning stage, b) Development and Experience Gaining Stage, c) Maturing Stage, and finally, d) Culmination or Being Stage. Each of them will require distinct sets of knowledge, skills, and attitudes (behaviors) (KSA).
Stage 1 Preparation and Learning – One needs to prepare mentally, psychologically, and with cognitive abilities as well as psychomotor skills required in their first job. If you are becoming an engineer, you want to go through the process of learning and acquiring knowledge in the specified engineering field. Working in the oil and gas industry such as specializing in petroleum refinery, require relevant knowledge of the area. To become a skilled welder or an NDT inspector, require the necessary skills and knowledge in welding technology. And that goes for all other professions and jobs such as accountant, architect, surveyor, and others. We must equip ourselves with the knowledge to do the job competently. Even becoming a general worker such as doing manual cutting work of some kind of products will need the know how, including the psychomotor skills of the work at hand. Every job needs some kind of dexterity of the human hands or bodies and the brains for us to think. So prepare yourself, and learn as many skills as possible to survive in your jobs. Once you get the fundamental knowledge, and skills, and with the right attitude, the professional ethics, and the world view, you are able to begin the job. Updating knowledge is critical for continued success and to LEARN-UNLEARN-RELEARN as part of a life long learning process.
Stage 2 – Development and Experience Gaining – This stage will take 5 to 10 years on the average for one to develop all the skills, behaviour and attitude of the specific profession involved and especially on the subject matter. Example of profession is an engineer or a university lecturer and the subject matter is his or her area of specialization. Both are critical for future success. For example, a university lecturer must enhance his teaching skills from preparing classes and courses, managing classes and courses, motivating students, grading and assessment methods, as well as the university’s academic management systems such as being an Academic Advisor for a cohort of student intake, involving in promotion and marketing of faculty’s programmes, quality assurance and accreditation process especially for professionally based programs such as engineering, architecture, surveying, etc. On top of the teaching responsibilities, he will also begin to supervise and being examiner for postgraduate degrees including Master and PhD. The postgraduate academic supervision knowledge and skills are needed to ensure success of the candidates. These skills and knowledge can only be gained through experience and networking with seniors and peers. That is the reason, why it is called Development and Experience Gaining stage. In Malaysian universities, the research skills and knowledge encompass Grant application, research project management, financial management, equipment and materials acquisition, and many more. Having supervised research projects with PhD students, this will offer opportunity for Publications of research work into esteemed and refereed journals in our field of expertise. These continuous process of learning and researching new themes will enhance your Subject Matter knowledge and eventually gained yourself in your academic field until your can profess and be appointed as Professor of ‘Field Of Expertise’. The third component to experience is the Administrative or Leadership roles that you can contribute. In Malaysian universities, there are ample opportunities for one to become the head of a department, Taskforce/Unit/Center, Dean of a Faculty up to becoming the Vice Chancellor. Leadership and management skills and knowledge are acquired through mainly through experience. If you possess the leaders talent, the institution usually provide formal training such as those provided by AKEPT or a university Center for Leadership Training and Development. Otherwise, just have to do it. If you cannot become a leader, for heaven’s sake, please withdraw from the proposal and just be the teacher/professor of your field, so that you will not be embarrassed and be ridiculed. I strongly believe holding a higher position in a university comes from someone who is already matured and in Stage 3 of this success journey.
Stage 3 Maturing Stage – Once you are already experienced in numerous activities and middle management leadership role, than it is time to push yourselves onto a higher plain. You may want to continue becoming a leader who pushes your dream of making your institution and expert knowledge forward. I had the opportunity of leading a brilliant group of academics to offer new academic programs in Sudan in 2018, and also further enhancing a Double Master program. When you are involved in an international society, it will also expose you to different features and experiences. I was fortunate to work with APIEMS with professors from Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia who share same ideals for knowledge advancement in the field of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems. I was also fortunate to be part of Robust Quality Engineering Society Japan, and regularly organised the International Conference of Robust Quality Engineering with Shin Taguchi and the American Supplier Institute since 2013. I was instrumental to set up the Taguchi Centre for Robust Quality Engineering in UTM Malaysia, the only one in the world. Of course, with Shin Taguchi assistance and hard work. I was at this matured stage, able to be one of the Directors for the Asia Professional Education Network based in AIIT Japan together with Prof Seichi Kawata, President of AIIT, from 2016-2019. we held workshops, meetings, seminar during this period through the Professional Education and Education Framework research activities. I was also actively helping Sudan companies to adopt TQM, Lean Manufacturing and Operations Excellence techniques. Having the connection is not sufficient without your abilities, knowledge and skills in getting things done. At this level of maturity, you must be both the thinker and the doer. These are some of key experiences that can only be led by someone who have the maturity, wisdom, knowledge, experience and leadership, and interpersonal skills to make them successful.
Stage 4 – Culmination or Being – Once you have complete full circle, from junior engineer to specialist engineer or higher, or form lecturer to full professor, and have done all the things that you want and required to do, and at the same time getting recognition from peers, as you own sense of sell fulfillment, I think you are there. Having started in 1983 as trainee in Mitsubishi Motors, Mizushima, Okayama Japan and spent until 1989 learning and managing making cars, I had accumulated sufficient industrial experience, to move to a university and pursue as an academic. Beginning with junior lecturer in 1990, I went through all the learning and experience of, both the ‘administrative roles’, teaching, research, publications, and conference committees, external examiners, until becoming a full professor of Quality Engineering and Management on January 8th, 2008. 12 years of professorship in UTM until August 2019 to retire. In the midst of Covid-10 pandemic, on April, 1st, 2020, I began my next journey to become one of Tokyo’s Meiji University Graduate School of Business Administration Specially Appointed Professor. The contract ends March 2027. I am enjoying my first retirement life, passionately teaching and imparting my knowledge to the students at Meiji. My sincere best wishes and prayers to all of you who has patiently finished reading this… any comments feel free to email me at shariyusof@meiji.ac.jp or shariyusof@gmail.com
How would you design your career path from this sharing?
Quality From Classroom to Our Life 
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